Track roller carriage



Dec. 17, 1946. D. D. BRUSH TRACK ROLLER CARRIAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 30, 1943 INVENTOR. Don D. Brush D. D. BRUSH TRACK ROLLER CARRIAGE Filed July 30, 1945 2 SheetsSheet 2 ATTORNEY/5 Patented Dec. 17, 1946 TRACK ROLLER CARRIAGE Don D. Brush, Detroit, Mich.

Application July 30, 1943, Serial No. 496,699

7 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention pertains to a novel track roller carriage or skate for moving a given load along a track. One of the uses of the invention occurs in certain military equipment where a machine gun is mounted to roll on a circular track. Other applications of the invention will readily be apparent.

The carriage, which is the subject of this invention, is designed for use with a load that must assume a steady or stable condition when brought to a stop on the track. Consequently, the body of the carriage engages the track at two spaced positions along its length.

A track of this character is generally suitable for only one size of straight or circular track and is not suitable for a non-circular curved track in which the direction of curvature changes. This limitation is material in the case of a track from which the load must be supported laterally, such as a machine gun track on a military vehicle. The invention provides a carriage structure whereby the horizontal sides of the track are engaged by opposed horizontal rollers.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a carriage of this character which is applicable to a given track width, regardless of curvature, and automatically adjusts its rollers to the proper relative position. In the accomplishment of this object, a pair of spaced horizontal rollers for engaging opposite sides of the track is provided at each of the two positions where the carriage is to be supported by the track. Each pair of rollers is carried by a member which is freely rotatable in the carriage body and carries a vertical roller. An alteration in the direction of the track requiring change in the direction of the center line of the spaced horizontal rollers, automatically produces such a change by causing a rotative movement of the member carryin the rollers.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is described by way of example in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device mounted on a track;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

r appear.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 1.

In Figures 1 and 2 is shown a track I following any desired path which may, for example, be straight, circular, or in some cases S-shaped or U-shaped. The device of this invention, as previously indicated, adapts itself to changes in the direction of curvature of a track of given width.

The roller carriage includes a frame or body 2 which is U-shaped at its ends, as indicated by the members 4 and t, to straddle the track by extending across the top and bottom at two spaced points along the track, as may be seen by an examination of Figures 1 and 2. At the upper side or leg of each U-shaped end is the member 4 formed as a circular cup or race having its open side facing downward. At the lower side, the member 4 is a separate circular cup or race having a separate bottom 3. The parts are suitably secured together where necessary.

The bottom of each cup, recognizing that the upper cup is inverted, is formed with an opening 5 therethrough for a purpose that will presently Within each cup is rotatably mounted a disk 6 having a pair of spaced lugs 1 extending therefrom through the adjacent opening 5. Between each pair of the lugs is mounted a roller 8 carried on a pin 9 passed through the lugs, with a suitable bearing I0 inserted between the pin and the roller. These rollers engage, respectively the top and bottom of a track as clearly shown in Figure 2. Suitable annular bearings H are mounted over the upper disks 6 and at both sides of the lower disks. The upper disks 6 are retained in their respective cups 4 by the engagement of the rollers 8 with the top of the track.

Each of the disks 6 carries a pair of horizontal rollers l2 engaging opposite vertical sides of the track adjacent to the horizontal surface engaged by the roller 8 in the corresponding assembly. Each roller I2 is retained on its disk 6 by a headed pin 13 having a reduced threaded end 14 screwed into the disk. A suitable bearing I5 is interposed between the body of each pin l3 and the roller l2 carried thereby. Each disc 6 and its rollers 8 and I2 may be termed abogie or truck.

The body 2 is bow-shaped in plan, so that the intermediate portion of the frame or body 2 is offset laterally outward from the track and is formed with a suitable vertical bearing or socket I5 in which may be mounted the load, such as the pivot stem of the cradle of a machine gun, a portion of a crane, a suspended pulley block,

or the like. The carriage is stopped and locked in rigid load supporting relation to the track in any desired position on the track by a suitable brake as shown, for example, in Figure 4.

In this case the brake consists of a pair of jaws 20 and 2| respectively engaging the top and bottom of the track and slidably mounted on the body 2' by means of headed pins 22 extending from the latter into vertical keyhole slots 23 in the jaws. The jaws are adjustably attached to one another by toggles consisting of a pair of links 24 having one end pivotally attached to the upper jaw 28 and a pair of levers 25 pivotally attached to the lower jaw 2| and to which the remaining ends of the links 24 are pivotally connected at 26. The free or outer ends of the levers 25 are joined by a bar 2'! which constitutes an operating handle. The edges of the jaws are preferably reinforced by webs 28.

On a circular track a center line through each pair of rollers l2 must be radial of the track. The angle formed by the center lines from both ends of the carriage remains constant in a track of given radius, but obviously varies from one track to another having a different radius or a change in direction of curvature. The device herein disclosed adapts itself to such changes through the rotatable mounting of each disk 6 in its cup 4 or 4. Figure 3 illustrates the adaptation of the rollers to another track, shown in broken lines, of the same width but different radius. In the position shown, the rollers are at the common tangents and lined up on the common radius. In other positions, the roller center line is radial of the particular track.

The minimum diameter of circular track on which the device can operate is the center distance between pins 9 in opposite ends of the frame or body 2. On such a track the device rotates substantially within this distance as a diameter, and the bearing 16 describes a comparatively small circle whose radius is the distance from the center of the bearing perpendicularly to the line of centers between pins 9 at opposite ends of the frame.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is intended that alterations in the particulars of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as indicated by the appended claims.

The term orbicular is used as a general one,

and not necessarily limited to a circular form or perfect ellipse.

What I claim is:

l. A track roller carriage having spaced portions adapted for support at spaced positions along a track, a pair of spaced horizontal disks rotatably mounted in each portion and adapted to be positioned respectively at the top and bottom of the track, a pair of horizontal rollers mounted in each disk and adapted to engage opposite sides of a track, and means carried by each disk adapted to engage an intermediate horizontal surface of the track.

2. A track roller carriage having spaced portions adapted for support at spaced positions along a track,a pair of spaced horizontal disks rotatably mounted in each portion and adapted to be positioned respectively at the top and bottom of the track, a pair of horizontal rollers mounted in each disk and adapted to engage opposite sides of a track, and a vertical roller carried by each disk and adapted to engage an intermediate horizontal surface of the track.

3. A track roller carriage having spaced portions adapted for support at spaced positions along a track, a pair of spaced horizontal disks rotatably mounted in each portion and adapted to be positioned respectively .at the top and bottom of the track, a pair of horizontal rollers mounted in each disk and adapted to engage opposite sides of a track, and a vertical roller carried by each disk and adapted to engage an intermediate horizontal surface of the track, the center line of the horizontal rollers carried by any given disk passing through the center of rotation of that disk.

4. A track roller carriage as set forth in claim 3 wherein locking clamps are disposed on said track roller carriage for engagement with said track to lock the carriage at any desired position.

5. In a roller carriage for azimuthal gun pointing structures wherein an orbicular track is included and superstructure mounted to travel thereon, a carriage frame substantially bowshaped in plan and having trucks mounted at its respective end portions adapted to rotate about vertical axes, said trucks having rollers to engage a horizontal surface of said track and having opposed rollers to engage respective sides of the track, the convex portion of said bowed frame being projected away from the track at its inner side, said frame located principally below the top of the track and above the bottom of the track, and a load carrying vertical axis pivot bearing on the bowed part of the carriage intermediately of its length spaced from a chordal line between the first named vertical axes.

6. The structure of claim 5, wherein track engaging locking means is mounted at the concave side of said carriage constructed and arranged to lock the carriage to the track, in rigid fixed load transmitting relation therewith.

-7. The structure of claim 5, in which said carriage is a substantially horizontal member approximately at the level of the track and bifurcated at each end to extend over and under the track, said trucks being mounted in said furcations respectively.

DON D. BRUSH. 

